medieval_atlantafandomcom-20200214-history
Medieval Things
Medieval Dogs Hunting was the most popular sport of the leisured class. There were two types of hunting: par force and stable and bow. Par force hunting involved huntsmen tracking the quarry on their own, then setting the dogs loose to chase it down. On the other hand, stable and bow hunting is the hunting most people associate with hunting. Riders hunt the quarry down with the assistance of the dogs and then kill it with bow and arrows. Breeds Alaunt This breed was specifically used to seize a running quarry. Their temperament was extremely important, as they were bred to chase down wild boar, bear and wolf. They are some of the most aggressive and fearless of all the hunting dogs. Today: The Alaunt is extinct in its original form. However, many breeds of modern bulldogs and mastiffs are descended from the alaunt. Bloodhound This breed is the tracker of the Middle Ages. They were bred to track the hart or boar before the actual hunting hounds were set on the quarry. It was able to track the "cold scent" of an animal and track an individual to its nest. At the end of the Middle Ages, they may have also been used to track humans as well. Today: Bloodhounds are still around today. They can be family dogs, but are also trained by the police as leash hounds to track suspects. Terrier This breed covered a wide range of uses and is also one of the oldest dog breeds around. The earliest reference to them is in the early Roman era. In hunting, terriers were used to track and follow badgers into their burrows where hunters and other dogs could not follow. A hunter followed them by listening to the high-pitched barks as they tracked the quarry. However, they were also used as pest control on rats, rabbits and foxes. Today: Terriers have been bred into all shapes and sizes. Most of the breeds are common housepets, but a select few are still used to hunt and track prey like foxes. Beagle This breed covered a wide range of uses and is another one of the oldest dog breeds around. The earliest reference to a dog similar to the modern Beagle is from Ancient Greece. Beagles are scent hounds that were used to track quarry like hare, rabbit, deer and other small animals. They were carried on the horses until the quarry escaped into dense undergrowth, then set upon the chase. Today: Beagles are intelligent, popular pets. Because of their senses and temperament, they are also employeed as detection dogs for agricultural and foodstuff around the world. (For more information on dog breeds: http://dogapedia.org/) Ancient Stories Guinefort Guinefort was a greyhound that belonged to a knight in a castle near the French city of Lyon. One day when the knight was hunting, Guinefort was alone in the castle with the knight's son. When the knight returned home, he found the nursery in disarray and Guinefort with blood on himself. The knight jumped to the conclusion that Guinefort had killed his son and slayed the dog. Then, he heard his son crying and found him with the carcas of a viper that Guinefort had obviously killed and protected the child. When the mistake was discovered, the knight buried Guinefort and had a shrine created in his honor. Guinefort became a saint and a symbol for the protection of infants until the Catholic Church prohibited it. Husdent Husdent was a lapdog that was owned by Tristan, given to his as a favor from an unknown French princess. When the conclusion of the tragic love story of Tristan and Isodel came to a head, Tristan retreated into the woods for several years. Upon his return to court, no one recognized him other than his faithful dog, Husdent, who made it possible for the two lovers to meet and continue their affairs, because no matter what disguise Tristan wore to fool the rest of the court, Husdent always recognized him. Husdent supposedly died on top of the lover's grave only three days after them. Cavall (or Cabal) Cavall was King Arthur's favorite dog and was used in the hunt for the great boar, Twrch Trwyth. During the hunt of the boar, Cavall left an footprint in some stones which is called a marval of Great Britian in the medieval work Mirabilia, a contemporaneous of Historia Britonum, written in the 9th centrury. (There are many other medieval references to hunts and chases with animal counterparts.) Today Nowadays, dogs are "man's best friend." Some dogs are still used in their original purposes of hunting, but many have migrated to become parts of the family. Others still are used in jobs, tracking and protecting. Whatever the use of the animal, dogs are an important part of our every day life. Chess and its Pieces The game of chess can trace its geographical roots back to India and its historical roots back hundreds of years, but it was in Europe that it took the form in which it is most commonly played today. While the Middle Ages did not play as great of a role in its development as the name and shape of its pieces would imply, its development shows many parallels to other Medieval artifacts. Pieces The earliest chess pieces were handmade from available materials. Bone, stones, wood and similar crafting materials were the most common. Each crafter would have their own style of pieces, ranging from rudimentary to ornate. Recognition of pieces was often difficult and could hamper play. The names and shapes of the pieces themselves changed under the watchful eye of Christianity from potentially heathen names and forms such as the War Elephant to more appropriate ones such as the Bishop. While the change in name and form did not affect the style in which the game was played, there were yet to be universally standardized rules of any kind and the variety of personal design in the pieces often reflected that.Stamp, J. (2013). How the Chess Set Got Its Look and Feel. online Smithsonian. Available at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-the-chess-set-got-its-look-and-feel-14299092/?no-ist= As chess play became associated with social status during its introduction to Europe around the turn of the millennia, chess pieces were gradually added to the category of luxury goods. The more high class the player, the more elegant and expensive of a chess set they required to play upon. This schism between the artistic boards of the upper class and the hand crafted boards of the lower class is a tradition that has persisted from the Early Medieval era through to the modern one. As the basic design that differentiated one piece from another became more standardized through the spread of play through the upper class, further difficulties arose in piece design. Over ornamentation could obscure the distinguishing marks and on those where it was clear, such as the Barleycorn set pictured to the right, the pieces were often top heavy and so delicate play was hampered.Dewey, A. and Ellison, M. (2014). Design of the Staunton Chess Set. online chessspy.co.uk. Available at: http://www.chessspy.com/articles/Staunton%20Chess%20Set%20Design.pdf In 1849 Nathaniel Cook designed, John Jaques sold, and Howard Staunton endorsed a new design of chess pieces. Modeled after Grecian columns, they were tailored to fix both the problem of recognition and fragility. The style was eventually named after Howard Staunton, as it was his endorsement, as one of the premier chess players of the age, that brought it to prominence.kottke.org, (2013). The standardization of chess set design. online Available at: http://kottke.org/13/04/the-standardization-of-chess-set-design The Staunton Chess set helped to standardize Chess sets the world over and is currently the recommended set for all tournament play.World Chess federation (2008). 02. Standards of Chess Equipment and tournament venue for FIDE Tournaments. online available at: http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=16&view=category It is the modern middle ground around which the schism of ornate to hypersimplistic still exists. For the common player, two dimensional representations of the pieces that can be moved on a magnetic or electronic boards have taken the place of handcrafted sets, but they fill the same purpose of making Chess available to everyone. On the other hand, the trend that began in the 13th century of making ever more elaborate, expensive, and fragile chess sets has continued to the point where the most expensive Chess set available for commission costs 9.8 Million dollars, the Jewel Royale Chess Set.Berlinger, Y. (2009). What Happened to the Jewel Royale Chess Set Available at: http://www.purplepawn.com/2009/10/what-happened-to-the-jewel-royale-chess-set/ Play The play of chess, like it's piece design, was constantly in flux from its point of origin onwards, eventually breaking off into variations by Geographical location. Some variations drifted so far from each other before standardization that they have never been reconciled, instead becoming entirely different games, most notably in East Asia with Shoji. Spain, around the year of 1475 is the origin of modern Chess play with the revolution of both the Bishop and the Queen. Previously the War Elephant and the Chancellor, they were both confined to moving diagonally and while the Bishop could move two squares along any line, the Queen was the weakest on the board only able to move one. Modern play allowed the Bishop to move as many diagonal spaces as were available, while the Queen could move until blocked along any diagonal as well as in straight lines.Caroluschess.com. The Origin of Modern Chess. Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/caroluschess/modern-history/the-origin-of-modern-chess This change radically restructured the patterns of play around the newfound prominence of the Queen. Her ability to dash across the board was unparalleled, and along with the increased mobility of the Bishop and eventually the pawns, sped up the game in ways that would be unrivaled until the introduction of the clock. The change was so dramatic, she was referred to as the "Mad Queen" due to her penchant to rush into danger. Scachs d'Amor Attempting to summarize all of the legends, stories, literature, and myths in which Chess plays a vital role would be the work of lifetimes, but the Scachs d'Amor plays a special role in the development of chess, linking its Classical roots through Medieval innovation to Modern day. The Scachs d'Amor is a late 15th century Spanish poem detailing a game of Chess between Venus and Mars. Though written poetically, it can be translated into moves on a chess board, following throughout the entire game. Mars, playing White, wins the match, but it is primarily a teaching game as many of the verses are dedicated to the formation of the board, the number, type and array of the pieces as well as the rules that must be followed. The rules thus elucidated are very close to Modern Chess play and are the first written manuscript to contain accounts of the Mad Queen style of play.Scachsdamor.org, (2014). Scachs d'Amor - The Chess Game of Love - English Translation. online Available at: http://www.scachsdamor.org/ Modern Play in Atlanta Though America has less of a direct connection with the History of Chess, it has a fairly active network of clubs and tournaments since interest in the game was revived by Bobby Fischer. Bobby Fischer's victory in the World championship of 1972 against his Russian opponentBobbyfischer.net. (2008) http://www.bobbyfischer.net/ was yet another cultural blow against the Red Menace. After that match Chess culture roared back to life across the United States. Currently Atlanta is home to several larger organizations and a multitude of scholastic and recreational clubs. * Chess Atlanta * Georgia Chess Association * Kid Chess * Atlanta Chess Club * 64 Squares Chess Club * Atlanta Chess School * Atlanta Chess Mess These are some of the more prominent, though Chess in its modern form can be found in various capacities all over Atlanta. 'Medieval Swordfighting' Western martial arts have an interesting relationship with the rest of modern western society. Though they grew together originally, the martial arts eventually faded away, whereas other cultures have continued their traditions for centuries. The Death of an Art Western culture has always possessed a certain affinity for the newest technological advances, and this was no less true in the Middle Ages. As such, it is not surprising to note that, with the advent of the modern firearm, the value of swordsmanship on the battlefield decreased rapidly, until it vanished entirely to the confines of ceremony. Simultaneous to the decline of the weapon, the art transitioned from a martial practice to a sporting one, first into the gentlemanly duels of "Classical Fencing," and then into modern Olympic sport fencing. Both of these changes are valuable in their own right, but neither of them are truly martial arts. As this transition occurred, and the old ways ceased to be practiced, knowledge of them declined and finally was replaced almost entirely by misconception. That is slowly beginning to change. The Resurrection of an Art ' ' The reemergence of true swordsmanship and western martial arts owes much to the high fantasy genre.This genre often creates worlds that are intended to replicate, or at least approximate, the real Middle Ages. Some are more realistic than others, but this period of human history is a common theme among entries in the fantasy genre. These can include film, literature, or video games. As such, many of these works feature characters who wield period weapons, swords most prominently. Thus, an interest in these weapons and fighting styles has survived, though the genre is also where many misconceptions are bred. This is not very different from literature from the Middle Ages themselves, much of which exaggerated descriptions of combat as we do today, but without any frame of realistic reference besides fantasy itself, we have lost sight of the realities of swordplay.Reclaiming the Blade. Galatia Films, 2009. Film. The Heritage of the West This presents us, as a culture, with a unique opportunity. The martial masters of the Middle Ages created something that no other culture that we know of has. Many of them produced manuals with which to teach their students, handbooks which show exact techniques, explain style and tactics, illustrated and discussed in detail, which we now have ourselves. This creates a direct link to the Middle Ages that we have in no other area; we can view exactly how these weapons were wielded, in exactly the correct context. These manuals fulfill a vital part of our western culture, by making available a direct window into certain realities of the time. The Google Results in Atlanta There are a few schools of western martial arts in the Atlanta area, including: The Schola Saint George Iron Door School of Arms References 10. Personal Experience